Vassar Davis - Bass, Vocals
Katie McAllister - Vocals, Percussion, Drums, Guitar
Matt Wilken - Guitar, Keyboard, Vocals
VASSAR DAVIS: My first musical experiences all centered around church, if you can believe it. My father led a worship group and my entire family was involved; in fact all of us were musical in some fashioned.
The first time I picked up a Bass was at the request of my Jazz Band instructor in High School. I was playing trumpet and he knew I had picked up a little guitar, and the previous Bass player wound up in Juvenile Hall before my senior year. 13 years later…here I am.
If you haven’t guessed by my first name, my parents were heavy into Bluegrass. Since I was a wee lad in my momma’s papoosse going to festivals and being enveloped in flatpicking circles, my early years were surrounded by it.
I have to say I take a little of everything in, particularly people and acts that harmonize well (I think Katie hit it on the head earlier…”Lyrically Making Out..”). I’m told I’m a completely different person on stage, and I’m inclined to believe it. I think performing is the only time I truly feel comfortable.
My three bandmates…You have Scott, the solid foundation any groove can lean on for safe measure; Katielynn, who owns the stage with the bat of an eyelid; and Matt, the most non-threatening six-foot-five man I’ve ever met. Honestly? The thing I enjoy most about this band is that I get to be a dork amongst three of the most talented dorks I’ve ever met. That, and chemistry. We just get each other.
This one night I remember playing a set on this rather large stage with a house-run sound system that was very, VERY heavy in the bottom end. So heavy, in fact, that I didn’t notice that halfway through the third song of the set my amp had managed to vibrate it’s way off the table I had set it on…straight into the back of my legs. I was so wrapped up in the song that even though I felt something hit my legs, I didn’t notice until there was no sound emitting from my instrument. I turned around, and THERE’S MY AMP!!! Right at my feet! I unplugged, set my bass on the ground, propped the amp back up, plugged in about 5 different things that had managed to unplug itself in the melee, plug back in, power on, and went right on. NASCAR pit crews would envy my speed. Plus, the bonus? The band kept playing. If you were sitting at the bar or standing in the back (or deaf in the lower register), you would have had NO idea anything went wrong.